as in to control
chiefly US
to try to oversee all the small parts of (something, such as an activity) in a way that is usually not wanted or that causes problems
He micromanaged every detail of the budget.
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Recent Examples of micromanage
Iskander encourages shedding the urge to micromanage outcomes and instead embracing surrender.
—
Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 31 Jan. 2026
The coach wants more out of him, but late in the game, Johnson not only doesn’t have to micromanage his QB.
—Jon Greenberg, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2026
The good news is that creating a framework that lets people use their judgment is far simpler than trying to micromanage daily decisions.
—Philip K. Howard, The Atlantic, 10 Jan. 2026
The company also argued the shareholder proposal amounts to micromanaging day-to-day operations.
—Mike Schneider, Fortune, 8 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for micromanage
Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 31 Jan. 2026
The coach wants more out of him, but late in the game, Johnson not only doesn’t have to micromanage his QB.
—Jon Greenberg, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2026
The good news is that creating a framework that lets people use their judgment is far simpler than trying to micromanage daily decisions.
—Philip K. Howard, The Atlantic, 10 Jan. 2026
The company also argued the shareholder proposal amounts to micromanaging day-to-day operations.
—Mike Schneider, Fortune, 8 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for micromanage
Recent Examples of Synonyms for micromanage
Verb
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The vendor chalked this up to Apple controlling the entire update stack, as opposed to Android, where updates are likely fragmented across diverse manufacturers and device types.—
Will McCurdy,
PC Magazine,
28 Mar. 2026
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Lenney also advocated for controlling the demand side of the market, addressing the housing crunch by restricting who could buy homes by banning large institutions from purchasing them as investments.—
Mark Dee
March 28,
Idaho Statesman,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
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As part of the Waldorf’s rebirth, the French designer Pierre-Yves Rochon handled the hotel’s interiors, furniture, and amenities.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Mar. 2026
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Pawel Chudzicki, whose law firm handled the licenses for Global Risk, told me that the State Department had conducted an inquiry in response to the Associated Press article and identified no violations of the law.—
David D. Kirkpatrick,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Orban started manipulating these grievances, and did so to significantly divide Hungarian society.—
John Shattuck,
The Conversation,
27 Mar. 2026
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As machines grow more powerful, society will become increasingly effective at shaping the world, while individuals who never learned to think deeply will be easier to manipulate.—
Shai Tubali,
Big Think,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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To address these challenges, researchers designed a hybrid composite actuator that combines shape memory alloys (SMAs) with shape memory polymers (SMPs).—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
26 Mar. 2026
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This is due to a limitation in the Pennsylvania Legislature that families and advocates are working to address.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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But stocks were buoyed by reports that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was willing to negotiate.—
Rachel Barber,
USA Today,
31 Mar. 2026
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There were no mass demonstrations by the Iranian people against the regime, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps continued to fight even more ferociously, and Khamenei’s death did nothing to bring Iran’s negotiating position onto a more reasonable plane.—
Daniel DePetris,
Chicago Tribune,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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The drones then fly themselves to the location of a call, and are supervised by a drone operator.—
Dillon Thomas,
CBS News,
31 Mar. 2026
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While the mayor campaigned on educating kids as young as 6 weeks, his plans so far have started with 2-year-old children, who are typically less complicated — and costly — to supervise than infants.—
Cayla Bamberger,
New York Daily News,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Originally developed to treat type 2 diabetes by mimicking hormones that regulate blood sugar, the medication quickly became better known for its powerful impact on weight loss due to the way the same mimicking hormones affect appetite.—
Daryl Austin,
USA Today,
28 Mar. 2026
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As adoption of artificial intelligence in the US outpaces efforts to regulate it, organized labor is providing an important check on how the technology gets used, according to the head of the Hollywood actors’ union.—
Victor Swezey,
Fortune,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
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He was never accused of any wrongdoing, and a House Ethics Committee investigation opened in 2021 was closed two years later without any action taken.—
Adeola Adeosun,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Chiesa di San Luigi dei Francesi Even if not a huge art buff, take the five minutes to wander to the Contarelli chapel inside this small catholic church which is just a short stroll from the Pantheon.—
CNT Editors,
Condé Nast Traveler,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Micromanage.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/micromanage. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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